Cornwall Council is "very angry and disappointed" with the Government's announcement that the South West will get just £33million from its £1.6billion Stronger Towns Fund.

The new funding, announced today, has been dubbed a "Brexit bribe" and the largest allocations have been made to areas in the north of the country with the north west getting £281m.

As a comparison while the North East will get the equivalent of £5.70 per head per year the South West gets just 85p per head per year.

In Cornwall there are fears that the allocation provided to the south west could indicate how much the county could get from the Shared Prosperity Fund which has been suggested could replace Cornwall's European funding after Brexit.

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Cornwall has benefited from hundreds of millions of pounds from the EU as it is one of the poorest regions in Europe. MPs have previously claimed that Cornwall would not lose out after Brexit.

while the North East will get the equivalent of £5.70 per head per year the South West gets just 85p per head per year.

Julian German, deputy leader of Cornwall Council, said: "We are very angry and disappointed about the allocation for the south west from the Stronger Towns Fund.

"We don't know the allocation for Cornwall in particular but in the South West we will have £6m a year compared to £40m in the north east. We are not getting a fair share.

"The Government says this is targeting economies that are performing less well. In Cornwall we have low wages, low GDP and it looks as though we are going to receive very little funding from this.

"That is really bad news in itself but this is systematic of a problem we have with Government funding. We are trying to access different funding streams but we find that we either aren't allowed to compete for that funding or we lose out.

"For example the moving of Channel Four could have a really positive impact for Cornwall but only cities could bid. There are a number of other examples like that and funding streams where we have not been allowed to bid or no rural areas have been successful. There has been urban bias."

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Cllr German said that the council was now concerned what the Stronger Towns Fund could mean for the Shared Prosperity Fund.

The Government had been set to provide details to local councils about this new funding last year but has still not given any details of how much it will be or how it will be allocated.

County Hall in Truro (Image: James Ram)

Cllr German said: "We could lose out significantly. Cornwall was set to get £60m a year with European Structural Funds over the next seven years, there is no sign of that happening with the Shared Prosperity Fund.

"It is a huge concern not just for the council but for the business and residents of Cornwall."

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Asked about the promises made by Cornwall MPs about post Brexit funding Cllr German said: "This is something that Cornwall Council, (council leader) Adam Paynter and myself keep going back to the MPs about, they have made these promises but we have had nothing to indicate what might happen.

"We are extremely disappointed and angry that it appears that Cornwall will be missing out again."